Tulsa woman honored for challenging retailer in hijab case

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A Tulsa woman who gained national attention when she challenged a clothing retailer after she was denied a job there for wearing a headscarf has been honored for her social justice advocacy.

The Tulsa World reports Samantha Elauf received the Woody Guthrie Center’s second Oklahoma Changing World Prize at a ceremony Sunday night.

In accordance with her Muslim faith, Elauf wore a headscarf to a job interview at an Abercrombie & Fitch kids store at the Woodland Hills Mall in June 2008. She was told she was denied the job because her hijab clashed with the company’s dress policy at the time.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against the retailer on Elauf’s behalf. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the commission and Elauf’s favor in an 8-1 margin last year.